Season 2:News and Spoilers
by Vampgirl144
Summary: I will frequently update with interviews,spoilers,and news involving the Second Season of the Vampire Diaries.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:**

**Hey everybody! I found this online and got so freaking excited I had to share it!**

**Season 2 News:**

**Update 1**

**Ian Somerhalder Talks about Season2 Romance.**

This is a part of an interview that TV squad did with Ian Somerhalder!

**What's been the scene in Season 2 that you think fans will flip over? Something particularly fun maybe?**

There's a pretty racy scene with Elena and Damon. I wouldn't necessary call it fun… there hasn't been a lot of fun scenes to be honest with you. This isn't a very fun time for Damon. But in the face of adversity and chaos, Damon still has a really good time. But [the scene with Elena] is steamy and it's been waited for ... you get a really big, huge glimpse into Damon's vulnerability and what the power of attraction can do. That's all I'll say.

How soon after last season's finale do we pick up in the Season 2 premiere?  
Minutes, seconds ... we start off in the finale. Literally. Which is great because to be honest with you, even just being away from the show for a couple of months, I sort of lost my footing on what was going on. It's really helpful starting where we left off, and even going back a moment, back into the season finale. What's starting to happen this season as well is someone we know very well ... there are other vampires around now that were very unlikely candidates, and it's a lot of fun. It's fun to see dynamics change and to watch someone sort of figure out being a vampire when they're so new at it. I've been doing it for a year and a half, and Damon's been doing it for 150 years like Stefan, so you start to understand what it's really kind of about. To watch someone go through the process of that is a lot of fun actually. [Laughs]

***(Ian also says that Damon is Team Elena (Not Katherine), Katherine will become a bigger threat to Bonnie than Damon, and his favorite cast members to work with are Matt Davis and Nina Dobrev.)**

To read the rest of the interview, go to

.com/2010/09/09/ian-somerhalder-interview-the-vampire-diaries-season-2/

Also, Matt Davis has recently posted a Twitter video about Ian under the pen name of ErnestoRiley.

It's awesome and soooo hilarious:

.com/2YR1U

**Author Note:**

**Through-out season 2 ,I will post more interviews , news, and episode descriptions . **

**The Premiere of season 2 ("The Return") is tonight at 8pm on the CW channel. Can't wait.**

**Chapter 6 to A Black Magic Rose is currently being edited by The Lost Chapters and will be posted As Soon as Possible!**

~Vampgirl144


	2. Jeremy's New Girl

**Season 2 News**

**Jeremy's new girl**

**Credit: .com**

Maiara Walsh, who played Gaby's and Carlos' bratty, over-sexed niece Ana on last season's _Desperate Housewives_, is headed to Mystic Falls to cause more even trouble. In _Vampire Diaries'_ Oct. 7 episode, the 22-year-old actress will appear as Sarah, a high schooler who likes to party. Woo-hoo! Crack open the coffins and pour me some blood!

_Vampire Diaries_ executive producer Kevin Williamson tells me, "Sarah is a girl who sets her eyes on Jeremy and encourages him to party it up at the Lockwood house." (And by Lockwood house, we're now talking Werewolf Central.)

Since Maiara now has a good chance of being killed off by both vampires and werewolves, I wish her the best of luck in Mystic Falls. She's a sweet actress whose _Housewives_ character just never took off. Last we saw of Ana Solis, she was headed off to New York City to pursue a modeling career just like her Aunt Gaby did back in her day. At least I think that's what happened to her. I sort of tuned her character out after she got all caught up with those Bolen neighbors.

Author note:

Go to the OMG website or the TV Guide website to find out more about Maiara Walsh.

My other story A Black Magic Rose(Damon/Elena) was updated yesterday evening. Check it out!


	3. Interview With Kat Graham

**Interview With Kat Graham**

High school is hard enough, without being a witch whose best friend is dating a vampire who's also your sworn enemy. But Katerina Graham says that Bonnie, the character she plays on the CW's _Vampire Diaries_, is much stronger in Season 2. In other words, she won't be hanging out after school with vampires Damon (Ian Somerhalder) or Stefan (Paul Wesley) any time soon. Graham tells how Bonnie's new powers will alienate her from besties Elena and Caroline, how she'll get back at Damon and whether she thinks Bonnie should have a cute warlock boyfriend.

**: How has Bonnie changed since the first season?  
Katerina Graham: **She's definitely a lot stronger and more empowered and less fearful. She started off as this timid sidekick and she's been through so much that she's really had to develop an inner strength. She's shot through the roof in terms of being more honest. There's a lot of guilt that if she would have said, "No, we're not [opening the tomb]; figure it out yourself," she would still have her grandmother.

Catch up on the_ Vampire Diaries _season premiere with our recap

**: Will Bonnie and Elena ever be as close as they once were?  
Graham: **I don't think the relationship with Bonnie and Elena will ever go back to the way it was. I think they can be friends and they can still be close, [but] it's different. We all have those friends we have serious problems with, but you know they would die for you.

**: Do you see the vampires and witches ever aligning?  
Graham: **For the benefit of a life, yeah. Just for the benefit of the vampires? No, I don't think Bonnie would do that.

It's _Vampire Diaries_' year of the Kat!

**: What about Bonnie and Stefan or Damon?  
Graham: **I don't know if it's _never_ going to happen, but I don't know about a friendship. They're going to have to work their asses off to get Bonnie to even like them. I think if it helped Elena, she would definitely work with them and I think that says a lot about Bonnie.

**: How does Bonnie take her anger out on Damon in the second episode?  
Graham: **She keeps her promise, I will say that, and she will do something unthinkable.

**: How will the dynamic between Bonnie and Caroline [**Candice Accola**] change after what happened during the premiere's final scene?  
Graham: **Caroline's always been the chatty, blonde, silly frenemy, and now that that's changed. It's left them all in a vulnerable place, especially Caroline. Bonnie wouldn't ever just cut anyone off for no reason. If they were really not going to be friends anymore, it would have to be because of something Caroline did. No matter what Caroline is, it would have to be something awful. Other than that, Bonnie is pretty accepting of the fact that her friends are a little different. I think Elena choosing a vampire is just as strange as Bonnie being a witch, personally.

See photos from _The Vampire Diaries_

**: Will Caroline finally figure out that her friends are "different"?  
Graham: **I think there are certain characters that will have no idea about this secret the town has and there are people that are going to work to cover it up. Then there are people that are going to uncover every secret and figure everything out and not know what to do with it. Caroline is going to have to find out something. She's going to have to figure out what's going on.

**: Will Bonnie get a love interest — perhaps a cute warlock boyfriend?  
Graham: **She's definitely focused on her own abilities. But I do think it could happen. It happened last season with [Ben McKittrick], even though he ended up being a vampire jerk, but that's OK because most guys are. But hopefully she'll have a deep connection with a guy, because right now she doesn't really have a connection with any of the guys on the show. The biggest connection she has is with Damon — and it's not a positive one.


	4. Love Games

**Vampire Diaries: Memory Lane (EP204): Love Games**

Though we've met her before in flashbacks and she raised hell in **The Return**, I'd like to officially welcome Ms. Katherine Pierce back to Mystic Falls; **Memory Lane** revealed just what a fascinating and layered evil vampire ex she truly is. Long may she and her doppelganger, Elena be the rope in the Salvatore brothers' tug of war. This episode would have crumbled if put in lesser hands than Nina Dobrev's; she gives us two distinct performances that make **Memory Lane** a contender in my mind for one of the best episodes of _The Vampire Diaries_.

Though she's onscreen either as Katherine, Elena, or Katherine and Elena for, you know, 99% of the episode, Nina Dobrev isn't the only thing that kicked ass in **Memory Lane**: its tight, smart script gives us someanswers and even more questions; boozing, banter, and … Pictionary; an ancient grudge coming to new mutiny and more complications in the love quadrangle. Let's all take a minute and think about this emotional game-changer: Stefan fell in love with Katherine in 1864. It was real.

Fittingly, Katherine and Stefan's trip down memory lane is accompanied by a ton of references to previous episodes of _The Vampire Diaries_ so we viewers share in that familiar feeling, of history repeating itself. Beyond the flashback to 1864 that revisits events we saw different moments of last season, **Memory Lane** gives us a reprise of the "intimacy of the near touch" dance (**Miss Mystic Falls**), another vampire-controlled dream sequence (**Family Ties**), Stefan's diary being read without his permission (**Friday Night Bites**), a surprise vervain dart in the back (**Miss Mystic Falls**), Henry the Friendly Tomb Vampire (**Blood Brothers**) in 1864 garb, another guest in the Salvatore dungeon (**You're Undead to Me**, **Blood Brothers**), references to the ubiquitous Founders' parties (**Family Ties**, … every episode in the back half of season 1), and the idea that love and hate are not polar opposites but two sides of the same coin (**The Return**).

Crucially, Stefan finds himself asking the same question of Katherine — why is she back? — that he was asking Damon at the beginning of season 1. Damon's return to Mystic Falls (as he revealed in **History Repeating**) was motivated by love and revenge; Katherine insists she's come back for Stefan. Stefan refuses to believe that, but the last moments of **Memory Lane** (in flashback, Katherine promises Stefan they'll be together again) lend credence to her insistence that she loves him, that he's what she's after.

**Betrayal without blinking:** I'm not surprised that Stefan has a hard time believing Katherine is being honest. This episode is chockfull of characters faking out each other. Stefan stabs Katherine in the back with a vervain dart after an intense face-stroking session (_swoon_) but little does he know that she's faking it too — the vervain doesn't hurt her; she plays prisoner willingly. (And how seriously does Katherine kick ass as she breaks free from her restraints?) Though Mason is wise to his game, Damon (and Alaric) put on a friendly pun-filled show at Jenna's barbecue, playing get-to-know-the-werewolf, and later Damon pretends to agree to a truce. Following Katherine's "do it or die" instructions, Caroline tries to destroy the stability of Elena's relationship with Stefan and keep her away from him so Katherine can have her one-on-one time. And Elena and Stefan put on a performance at the Grill for Caroline to report back to Katherine: everyone has to believe their fight was real in order for Katherine to buy it.

The ultimate fake-out of the episode belongs to Katherine, who reveals to Stefan that she was in on the Great Vampire Purge of 1864. She betrayed all 26 members of her "vampire family" and made a deal with her enemy, George Lockwood (who himself tricked the Founders Council into believing vampires were responsible for the brutal deaths around town), to fake her own death. Katherine didn't want to be saved by the Salvatore brothers. Did Stefan and Damon die for nothing or did they die for love?

All that trickery made the sincere moments in **Memory Lane **more profound for me: Caroline's "I really am sorry" to Elena (which felt like an apology for her betrayal rather than just for her snippy behavior earlier); Elena and Stefan in her bedroom after their faux fight; and most surprisingly, Katherine, in 1864, promising Stefan, who died trying to save her, that they will be reunited. Katherine _is_ capable of love — and that combined with a proven capacity for betrayal, manipulation, and murder is going to make this season _very_ compelling.

**The Lone Wolf vs. the Lady Killer:** As a counterpoint to the duplicitous approach the vampires take, Mason Lockwood is a stand-up straightforward guy: he has no interest in a war with the vampires and he only keeps secrets from Tyler to protect him from becoming obsessed with the Curse. Now that Tyler knows the trigger, it will be interesting to see if he tries to manage his rage. It's tough luck that the werewolf gene makes the Lockwood men prone to violence, making it all the more likely that they'll take a human life.  
Damon seems a little obsessed with the werewolf presence in Mystic Falls, and I'd wager that it's motivated by more than the threat they pose to him and Stefan. It's a great distraction from obsessing over Katherine. He shows restraint in how he handles Katherine outside the Grill, refusing to let her get a rise out of him. While Stefan gets all riled up with her threats and revelations in the dungeon, Damon exhibits more self-control. Nothing quite like an ancient supernatural feud to keep your mind off your evil ex.

**You loved me once, you can love me again:** I don't know about you, but I'm concerned that Stefan and Elena's fake break-up is going to turn into real distance between our lovebirds. While Caroline was simply parroting back to Elena what Katherine told her, "all that mortality stuff" should strike a chord with Elena because it's absolutely going to become an obstacle if she and Stefan stay together — and she stays human. What about Stefan's feelings for Katherine? Will things change now that he knows he loved her without compulsion? Is Damon truly past his jealousy over Katherine's affection for Stefan, or will that beast rear its ugly head again? What will he do now that he's under the impression that Stefan and Elena are apart?

**Compelling Moment: **Though the "dog in a tutu" moment was comedy gold, I have to go with the opening dream sequence. It set the stage for the rest of the episode and gave us two couples smooching who we aren't likely to see in real life (so to speak) for some time, if ever: Damon and Elena, and Katherine and Stefan. Katherine, feel free to manipulate the Salvatore brothers' dreams any time you please.

**The Rules: **Katherine reminds us that because Stefan subsists on animal blood, it's very easy for her to get in his head and manipulate his dreams. It is possible for a vampire to build up immunity to the poisonous effects of vervain. Katherine confirms that a werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire. Silver doesn't have any special effect on werewolves. Taking a cue from L.J. Smith's _Dark Reunion_, human blood must be spilled in order to activate the latent werewolf gene.

**Foggy Moments:**

Strange that Katherine superimposed "Lockwood Mansion, 1864" in Stefan's dream…

Damon shows up at the Grill, and Elena gets up to go — without paying. No one ever throws money down before leaving the Grill. How does it stay in business?

Katherine asks Stefan why _he_ came back to Mystic Falls. Doesn't Stefan return to Mystic Falls every decade or so, as he mentioned in **Bloodlines**? Is it so significant that he returned to his hometown? (Keeping that photo of her, on the other hand, that's a question I'd like answered…)

Did Mason spend the afternoon drinking at Jenna's and then drive to the Mystic Grill? Let's assume that werewolf gene also gives Mason an extremely high alcohol tolerance.

**Other Thoughts and Questions before it's Kill or Be Killed (EP205):**

In Stefan's dream, Katherine says to him the same thing she did when he lay dead in 1864: "I love you, Stefan. We'll be together again, I promise."

When Stefan touches the vervain to Katherine's cheek, it sizzles her skin. How far does Katherine's vervain immunity go? Is the vervain jewelry Elena and company wear useless against Katherine?

Ford Fiesta product placement? Way better than the "I Binged It" Incident of last season.

After Elena asks why they look identical to each other, Katherine tells her she's asking the wrong questions. What are the right questions?

What or who was Katherine trying to dodge by faking her death in 1864?

Who did Mason kill in order to unleash the Lockwood Curse? How did Mason know that Damon was a vampire (or that vampires exist)? Is there a separate "founders journal" for Lockwood wolves?

Caroline betrays Elena in this episode, but we see her struggle with her choice and understand her motivation (i.e., Katherine = scary as hell). The nuanced way this played out is precisely what we don't get with Bonnie storylines.

George Lockwood is wearing gloves when he takes the moonstone from Katherine. Is that just old-timey fashion, or because he can't directly touch the moonstone?

Now that Mason told Tyler how to activate the curse, will Tyler hand over the moonstone? What exactly does this much-ballyhooed moonstone do?

Damon's attempt to kill Mason with a silver heirloom fails, and Katherine says werewolves are not "easy prey." How _does_ one kill a werewolf?

What's up with Jeremy? He's not into barbecues? And while I love Mason Lockwood, I'm a little worried that he's turning Alaric into an underused character. A little Alaric-Jenna-Mason love triangle could solve that problem…


	5. The Kat's New Victim

Episode 6: Plan B, airs October 21, 2010

Plan B Spoilery Description:

KATHERINE CHOOSES A NEW VICTIM — Despite Elena's efforts to keep Jeremy safe, he offers to help Damon and Alaric deal with Katherine. Sheriff Forbes and Caroline share a few rare moments of quality mother/daughter time. Bonnie accidentally discovers new information about Mason and shares it with Stefan leading Damon to take matters into his own hands.


	6. Lockwood Masquerade Ball

Episode: 2.07

"Masquerade"

Stefan and Damon are developing a new plan to deal with Katherine in a Ball at the Lockwood Mansion.

Airs October 28th


	7. Damon and Rose

Question: You've been skimping on _**The Vampire Diaries**_ scoop lately. —Katie  
Ausiello: No, I haven't, you've just been demanding more, more, more. (And ya know it, too.) Anyway, Damon's about to get a new lust interest — a fellow vamp named Rose

There's a new vampire in Mystic Falls,** "Vampire Diaries"** fans. Sources confirm to **Zap2it** that **"Supernatural's"** **Lauren Cohan** will be sinking her teeth into the role of Rose, a tough, sexy vampire who might just catch Damon's (**Ian Somerhalder**) eye.

But then again, doesn't everybody?

Rose is over 500 years old and described as disarmingly elegant despite a "tough girl" first impression. Five centuries of bloodsucking have given her a certain edge. "Maybe there's some humanity left in her - have fun finding it," my source says.

She's expected to make her first appearance in Episode 8, titled "Rose" - yeah, she's kind of a big deal.

Cohan is best known for her role as the mercenary Bela Talbot on "Supernatural." She had a coy love-hate flirtation with Dean (**Jensen Ackles**) and appeared in Sam's (**Jared Padalecki**) dirty dreams. If she can get those two all hot and bothered, I think she'll fit in just fine with the Mystic Falls gang.

What do you all think? Could she be hot enough for a Damon hookup? How dangerous do 500 years of undeath make a woman? And what's she doing in Mystic Falls?


	8. Jenna Meets Kat & Trouble in Paradise

**Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Matt are going to become friends, but not right away.** "Stefan's got too many issues for Matt," Roerig says. "Matt does not have the time to listen to all that. He's like 'Just be a man already, come on.' I don't think Matt could put up with all that."

Their friendship will grow out of a common purpose, Williamson says. "They're both good people, they're both good guys with good moral compasses and they have a mutual respect for each other. I think [Matt recognizes] the protector in Stefan."

Roerig agrees, "My character's going to stand beside anyone that's really going to truly love and protect Elena. That's all Matt cares about."

**Does that mean that Matt isn't quite over Elena (Nina Dobrev)?** "You never forget your first," Roerig says. That said, he's got a lot on his plate right now. Though he probably wouldn't mind getting back together with her someday, Roerig believes that his character has moved on.  
**  
Tyler's (Michael Trevino) curse opens a door for Jeremy to become a hunter.** "Jeremy is finally embracing his destiny as this hunter, and when he finds out that Tyler has the potential to be a werewolf or has that in his bloodline, he gets excited, because he finally has some sort of hand in this mystical world, some sort of upper hand on these vampires," says McQueen.

Though Jeremy will use Tyler's curse to his own advantage, he does share a connection with Tyler. "I think they have a friendship," McQueen assures me. "Tyler's also alone. He's going through this transformation of becoming this beast and not knowing who he is, and Jeremy can relate to that. He's always been an outsider. So though he is using him for information on one side, he definitely develops some sort of friendship with him as well."  
**  
Bonnie will be stuck in a love triangle of her own. **"Everybody wants Bonnie to get some!" laughs Graham. And things are looking up in that department.

"She's going to be getting interest from somebody that she already knows," Plec says, "and she's going to meet somebody new who strikes her fancy." I'm going to make a guess that Jeremy is the one who takes an interest in her, but that's just speculation.

**Katherine's backstory will be revealed.** In episode 209, we'll go back in time to 1492 to learn why Katherine is so very Katherine. "We learn from Katherine what her damage is," Williamson says of the episode, which takes place in Bulgaria (Nina Dobrev's actual birthplace). "We'll find out what happened back then that sort of foretold her future."

**Matt and Katherine will tangle.** "I hope so," Roerig teases.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Plec says. "We're lucky that Zach's here with us today." Uh-oh.

**The worst of Katherine is yet to come.** "Katherine goes super, super game-changer in the next episode and just starts wreaking havoc. You think that she already topped out, but it's just the beginning."

Williamson adds that in the clip shown before the panel, Katherine warned Elena that there's no beating her. "She's always one step ahead."

**"The Vampire Diaries" may lend itself to a "monster-of-the-week" structure.** Though this won't be established until much further down the road, Plec says that the show may take a different approach at some point, similar to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Supernatural."

"Eventually, there's going to be a formula that will grow out of the show and the storytelling that'll be a little bit more amenable to the monster of the week, the demon of the week," she says. "But until then we're going to keep building one brick at a time."

**Stefan and Elena are going to hit some serious bumps in the road.** In the most recent episode, Elena offered Stefan her blood. "That's a beautiful commitment in their relationship," Plec says. "It's kind of like a monogamy commitment in a way. It's a little cheesy and it's very perverse, but I thought it was kind of beautiful and special. Their relationship as of that moment has never been stronger." It won't last long, though. "The problem is all the damage that Katherine's been doing in [Elena's] psyche and in in Stefan's psyche. We're going to start to see the cracks in the longevity of their happiness."

**Damon's (Ian Somerhalder) dry spell isn't going to last long.** While he's been hung up on Elena for a while, Damon will get laid again soon enough. "I think Damon will have sex with every man, woman, and child in town," Plec jokes.

**Jenna and Katherine will meet again very, very soon. **"It's a weird thing with Jenna because she's got a special relationship with Elena, and we've seen that be tested again and again in the first season, and now Katherine's just going to throw something else into the mix," says Canning. "She's like, 'What's going on with my niece?' There's already things she's worried that Elena's not telling her, like why are you making out with Damon on the porch, so that's just going to intensify it and cause some major trust issues."

**Some favorite characters will return - possibly even dead ones.** Williamson teases that we may not have seen the last of of our favorite female vampires, Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) and Anna (Malese Jow), who could pop up in flashbacks. We're also very likely to see John Gilbert (David Anders) again. "I love David Anders, and I look forward to the moment that he does come back to our show. I can't say where or when or how that's going to happen, but he's Elena's father. There's too much potential there," Williamson explains.

**There's no telling who Elena will end up with.** Last season, Williamson and Plec said in an interview that Stefan and Elena are soulmates, and many fans took that to mean that the couple will definitely be together in the end. Williamson says that there are no guarantees. "You don't always end up with your soulmate," he says. "There's a definition of the soulmate that to me goes a lot bigger than the regular definition." Later, on Twitter, he clarified: "These characters need to find their souls first. Mates will come later."


	9. Is Damon Worthy of Elena? Julie&Kevin

It's no secret that a large contingent of very vocal **"The Vampire Diaries"** fans are rooting for Damon (**Ian Somerhalder**) and Elena (**Nina Dobrev**) to finally get together.

While Damon has admitted his feelings for Elena, she's not exactly his biggest fan at the moment. After all, in the season premiere, he snapped her little brother's neck - which can be kind of a mood killer for a girl.

I was on the scene at New York Comic-Con to chat with executive producers **Julie Plec** and **Kevin Williamson** about the future of the duo that a veritable army of Twitter fans refer to as "Delena."

They definitely hear you guys. Plec loves reading fans' tweets, recaps, and reviews about each episode. "One of the greatest things about this experience is that our fan base is very vocal," she says. "The community runs very deep, and they're very very supportive, and that's good."

She admits that occasionally, she has to force herself to take a step away from the computer. "All these girls are like 'Damon and Elena forever! Delena! Ahh! Oh, nothing on the show is working except for Damon and Elena!' and then you take a step back and you're like wait, no, stay off Twitter. "

Williamson finds the Delena fascination intriguing. "It's so interesting. Why? Do they really want them together? Or do they just want to _want_ them together?" he says.

The neck-snapping incident that drove a wedge between the two former friends was arguably the most shocking moment we've seen yet in a series that surprises me in every act. Plec says that she and Williamson were having lunch when he pitched her the idea, and she gasped out loud. "My jaw fell on the floor," she recalls. "That is the most messed up, twisted, ridiculous, horrible thing, that is awesome. And if I'm having a reaction, as someone who's heard everything, and I lose my mind over it - it blew my mind."

It blew Elena's, too, and Damon won't have an easy time redeeming himself.

"He screwed up," Williamson says bluntly. "I'm sorry, everyone loves Damon, but he's not worthy of her, yet, in my opinion. Yet. And that's why we have a show! We can go episode to episode and build toward all sorts of romance and love, and we've got a long way to go."

Largely due to Ian Somerhalder's inherent charm and Damon's sharp one-liners that add edge and intrigue to every script, the fans are willing to forgive his character almost anything. "This is such an unpopular opinion," Plec says cautiously, "but I really feel strongly about everybody's willingness to love Damon no matter what he does. I love Damon. Who doesn't love Damon? But if everybody loves him _no matter what he does_, then how does what he does have impact? How is there anything profound about your anti-hero or your villain?"

The strong reaction to the season premiere from Damon's fans was exactly what the writers were looking for. "So for him to do something that seriously hardcore, I knew people were going to be upset about it, and it's upsetting, but I felt like it was really important for Damon's character, when all was said and done."

Don't get discouraged, Delena 'shippers. Damon's road to redemption is going to be long and rocky and probably littered with death and bloodshed - not to mention, there's that whole Stefan thing in the way - but it'll only make the payoff all the more epic.

"That's the journey," Williamson says. "I don't just want to throw them together tomorrow. I'd be sad. I want to see the kiss, I want to see the sweaty palms, I want to see it all go down."


	10. Review of Stefan's Diaries

**Authors Note:**

**If you haven't read Stefan's Diaries : Origins , You may want to stop right here. **

**Spoilers ahead!**

**~Vampgirl144**

Completely devoured the new _Vampire Diaries_ book. This latest, called _Stefan's Diaries, Vol. 1: Origins_, is not a continuation of the original series but based entirely on the CW show (which was based on the original series). Don't get dizzy. It makes complete sense. What's funny about it (to me) is that no actual author is listed. It simply states "Based on the novels by L.J. Smith and the TV series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec." Huh. Who knows? Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn't put it down once except to tweet how much I loved it. That said, let me address a few things I believe could have been done better…

Several times throughout the book, Honoria Fell is mentioned by name. Except that she's called Honoria FELLS. Each instance of this made me growl under my breath. Even fans who haven't read the original series would notice this mistake due to the handful of Fell characters already named on the show.

We finally learn the origins of Pearl and Anna and are able to confirm that they are in fact real mother and daughter. They came from Charleston, South Carolina and were human as of the end of the Revolutionary War (1783) when a tuberculosis epidemic hit and Katherine saved them from certain death. However, in **There Goes the Neighborhood**, Pearl tells Damon that she's got 400 years on him. You do the math. Doesn't quite add up does it?

Founders Ball: several inconsistencies here but first is the order of events. Chapter 22 of the book goes into detail about all events surrounding the party starting with Stefan and Katherine skipping out without a dance, never seeing Damon, and ending with their entire night spent together once arriving home. Yet in **Family Ties**, **Lost Girls**, and** Memory Lane**, it is made apparent that Damon was at the ball and watched Stefan and Katherine dance. Also made clear in **Lost Girls** and** Memory Lane** is Damon spending time with Katherine once arriving home. My other question about this event is whether the ball in 1864 was the first of its kind (as the show says it is) or if it was already an annual event as the book states.

How exactly does this compulsion thing work? On page 202 of the book, before Stefan dies or starts any part of his transformation, he begins to recall feeling "woozy" each time Katherine had stared into his eyes to ask something of him and he immediately believes all his feelings for her were her idea and hers alone. This doesn't really gel with what has been explained so far on the show, including **Brave New World**, where Caroline doesn't get her compelled memories back until after she's fully turned.

There were a few other small differences between page and screen. Things like Katherine's clothing and the exact wording of certain conversations. The problem for me is that I can see and hear in my head these bits from the show as I read and when they don't match up it feels like watching a badly dubbed foreign film. Also rubbing me wrong is the book's complete dismissal of the few tomb vamps that the Salvatore brothers recognize in present day Mystic Falls: Henry, Frederick, Harper and Beth-Anne.

Going over the list above, I can see how some may think I'm a bit too much of a stickler and not allowing any breathing room for the book to exist either separate from, or as a casual companion to, the television show. I believe that this new series could easily stand on its own (as I believe L.J. Smith's original series does) and be heartily enjoyed by those not even watching the show. Where I personally run into trouble is the pegging of this series as a "prequel" to the show and the specific situations that are so, so close to what we've been shown in flashbacks and yet, just different enough to create questions about what is "real" in this _Vampire Diaries_ universe.

What really kept me awake hours after reading were the millions of questions swimming in my head; questions – frustratingly – still unanswered and questions newly formed. Do I dare hope the future holds the answers?

What exactly happened to Emily Bennett? Was she playing both sides throughout the events of 1864 or was Katherine aware of/insistent upon all she did to help the Founders entrap the vamps? Somehow her grimoire ended up in Giuseppe Salvatore's coffin who, according to the book, was buried a week after the death of his sons and the fire at the church. Did she die shortly thereafter? Did those she help with taking down the town's vampires kill her and take her book by force? Where were the children Damon swore to protect?

What is up with that damn crystal? Did Katherine know it could be used to release the vampires from their tomb? If so, was this a concern she was willing to brush off for the time being so that she could escape whatever force was hot on her trail? I'm assuming Damon hid it in the Lockwood mansion during Katherine's final vervain-infused tryst with Stefan. He obviously didn't know then what its power was or he would not have been so willing to die thinking Katherine had gone down in flames. Yet present day Katherine seems upset that Damon knew she wasn't dead. Was that something she hadn't wanted Emily to share with him?

Where on heaven or Earth did "Uncle" Zach Salvatore come from? I had hoped that this book might hint at another relative either in Mystic Falls or residing somewhere else. Though he's been gone from our TV screens for at least a year, I can't stop wondering about him (and the other "uncle" they mention being killed in 1953). Perhaps this is something that will be explained later with the construction of the Salvatore Boarding House.

Due to the confusion surrounding the magic of compulsion (see above) it is still impossible to know for sure if Stefan's love for Katherine was ever real. I think each and every reader (and watcher of the show, as this is a recently visited question there too) is left to make the decision for themselves. But do we even really want the answer? Or is this one better left in the grey?

And while I've gone on and on about what was done wrong with this book, there were enough things done right to make me jump up and down with impatience and excitement, waiting for the next installment. It brought joy to my cribbage-loving heart to read that it was a game played by Stefan with his father and Katherine. And, as a tried and true member of Team Stefan, I could not help but smile throughout as his voice was so true to character that it felt like Paul Wesley himself was reading the book aloud to me.

The love doesn't end there, of course. In **Bad Moon Rising**, we heard Stefan tell Caroline a bit about his human self in an effort to explain the way one's personality becomes more pronounced when he or she is turned. In _Stefan's Diaries_, we get to see first hand why in present day he can hardly go more than an hour without a bit of self-flagellation. Evan as a human he was prone to send himself on long and torturous guilt trips over his feelings for Katherine, his perceived duty to his father and, though mutually exclusive, his struggle to remain loyal to both his brother and his town.

Another highlight was finally getting a peek inside Stefan's head while in the act of what I believe to be one of the most cringe-inducing moments on the show thus far. The book allows the reader to not only watch Stefan walk home to his father in mid-transformation but to walk _with_ him – to feel his desperation as he begs his father for understanding, to feel his hurt and anger as he learns the truth of his own murder. And, finally, to feel his bloodlust as he gives in to drinking his father's blood right from his own hands. Truly chilling and heartbreaking at the same time.

One thing that I really loved and hope they integrate into the show at some point is Stefan's engagement to Rosalyn. It wouldn't necessarily have to be in a flashback sequence (though that would be preferred. I'd kill to see him bored and annoyed, feigning interest in her pink dress). But I do think that telling Elena about this piece of his human life would go a long way in showing her that he is capable of sharing more with her than just daily doses of life-threatening craziness.

So, friends, what did you think? Do you agree or disagree? Do you have the answers to my questions? Do you have new questions of your own? Please go crazy in the comments. I can't wait to read your thoughts!

-Erin Frazee (vampire-diaries website)


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